Time to introduce some main characters! Yay! Divided into two chapters.
"One has turned to the side of justice… One has been annihilated… Seven remain… But something… Something concerns me."
Setting: Real World – New York, New York, United States
"Happy Birthday Max!" "Congrats on the big 13 Max!" "Way to go, Max! You're growing up so fast!"
Max is just an average thirteen-year-old boy. He has brown messy hair, he likes to wear dark orange hoodies, and loose-fitting blue jeans. Max has always been an outdoorsman of sorts. He loves animals and the outdoors, and he loves to explore. Unfortunately, living in the middle of a city, he never has the opportunity to enjoy fresh air.
Besides the smoggy city air, he also hates family functions. Especially on his birthday.
"I'm going out for a little. Gonna buy a snack from the deli." he says as he leaves his apartment. "Don't eat too much, we're going to have a huge family dinner later on!" his mother replies.
As Max walks down his block, he notices that there's almost nobody on the street. A little weird for an area with a lot of stores. Suddenly, when he walks past an alleyway, his cell phone starts vibrating. He hits ignore, not feeling like answering, but for some reason the phone continues to vibrate. The caller ID reads "Invalid Number." Even so, Max answers.
"Your presence is being requested at the Hope Palace. Please enter the Digital Gate now. This is a matter of urgency." The voice on the other end of the phone is that of a very serious man, who reveals no emotion in his words. However, his words do seem urgent, and he is obviously distressed by something.
"Wh-wha?" Max replies, confused.
"Please enter the Digital Gate. It is to your left." The voice says.
Max looks to his left, down the alleyway, and sees a metal door on the side of a brick wall. "Huh, that's new…" Max remarks.
"The door is the Digital Gate. Please, enter it. I beg of you." The voice replies.
With nothing better to do, Max walks over to the door, and pulls it open. A blinding light shines from the other side of the door, and instantly engulfs Max before he can react, bringing him inside. The door then slams shut and disintegrates.
Setting: Real World – A moving train in the United States. Somewhere in North Carolina.
Bradley has never exactly been good at making friends. He isn't one of those gifted kids that simply isolates himself from his peers or anything like that, he's just an artist. He enjoys drawing images of flowers and plant life. When he starts drawing, he becomes extremely engrossed in his work, ignoring the presence of others.
Bradley doesn't dress out of the ordinary at all, and at times dresses in a way to blend in with the crowd. He wears a white T-Shirt and a blue jacket, and khaki pants. He always carries a small pencil case and a small drawing pad in his jacket pockets, just in case inspiration hits him suddenly. He's a very skinny, almost frail twelve-year-old with very pale skin.
Bradley is on a train headed from Florida to Maine, to visit family. But to Bradley, the primary purpose of the trip is to draw the varying scenery of the United States east coast.
Bradley's cell phone suddenly begins vibrating, and he ignores it. He's drawing a cherry blossom that is beginning to lose some of its petals. His phone continues to vibrate, which irritates him greatly. He decides to answer the phone, greatly irked by this interruption.
"Whoever this is better have something good to say…"
"I apologize for interrupting your work… I'm sure it will turn out magnificent… But this is an urgent matter." The voice on the other end is the same one that called Max before, a serious man with no emotion in his words, yet you can sense the urgency.
"How'd you know I was… Wait, who is this?" Bradley replies.
"All shall be explained in due time. I need you to come to me immediately. Please, enter the Digital Gate, it is at the front of the car." The voice says.
Bradley looks toward the front of the car, and notices that the door to the next car forward has the window covered by a large piece of paper. Some of the passengers on the car seem to have vanished somehow, while the ones still remaining seem to be asleep.
"You're a freak… I'm hanging up. Don't bother me again." Bradley angrily replies.
"Wait! No! The future of my world is at stake! Please, I beg of you, hear my plea, pleas-"
Bradley pulls the battery out of his phone, and promptly returns to his drawing.